THEY may be your little jewels but you could afford dozens of sparklers for the amount it costs to bring up kids.

Add up the cost of 18 years worth of food, clothes, childcare, pocket money, providing a home and keeping them busy and you could end up spending more than #100 a week.

That's #100,000 to bring up one child - and that's before you account for holidays and college fees.

Many parents exist on one salary, so finding money can be a struggle, especially if you have more than one child.

One in two parents expect their children to remain financially dependent until 21 - at a cost of #4,600 a year after they hit 18. Parenting is an expensive business - so if you have young children you should start saving now for the future.

You don't need to put away much to create a nest egg to help them through college.

They'll need the cash. The National Union of Students estimates it costs more than #7,000 to spend one year at university.

If they buy their own home they'll be especially in need of money. First-time buyers borrow an average of 80 per cent of the property value.

Make sure that you get all the help that is available from the Government. It is planning to give all children a foot up the financial ladder when it introduces "baby bonds" in 2003.

Every newborn child will get at least #250, followed by #50 top-ups at five, 11 and 16.

Parents decide where to invest the cash and it can't be touched until your child's 18th birthday.

If you put the money in a decent bank or building society savings account it could grow to #950 even if you don't add any more cash.

Or try a Friendly Society children's savings plan which accepts as little as #10 a month and runs for a minimum of 10 years.

Sticking #25 a month into Family Assurance's junior bond would net your son or daughter #8,500 tax free in 18 years' time.

A slightly riskier bet is an investment or unit trust. But longer term, they are hard to beat.

If you paid #25 a month into an investment trust over the past 15 years it would now be worth #12,876, according to the Association of Investment Trust Companies.

Or paying in as little as #30 a month with Edinburgh Fund Managers (0131 313 1000) over the past 18 years would now be worth a total of #16,436.

You can invest from as little as #50 a month or a lump sum of at least #1000.

Also worth having a look at are children's bonds at the Post Office.

You could set up an Independent Savings Account to make the most of your own tax-free savings allowance - though this can't be in your child's name until they hit 16.

Or consider taking out an endowment policy. By doing this you will pay monthly contributions but have the added benefit of life insurance so that if anything happens to you, your children are covered financially.

ENDOWMENT POLICY

BEVERLEY and Robert Green, both 34, from Sheffield, pay #20 a month into a CIS endowment policy for each of their sons - Ross, nine, and Jake, six.

WE started up the boys' endowment policies when they were born because we wanted to make sure that they had a reasonable amount of money to act as a stepping stone into life.

Because they're endowments, they also have life cover - so if anything happens to me or my husband, they'd be covered. That gives us great peace of mind. We hope they'll use it for their further education - I'd hope we'd brought them up to spend it wisely and not to waste it all on PlayStations and other boys' toys. The earlier you start putting money aside for your kids, the easier it is - you pay in smaller amounts but for longer.

They have their own bank accounts and we encourage them to save a bit, so they understand the value of money. But they are children and it's nice for them to have money to spend as well.

INDIVIDUAL SAVINGS ACCOUNT (ISA)

Melanie Bessell, 28, from Bath, and her husband Alan, pay #50 a month into a Framlington regular savings ISA for their two-year-old son, Luke, and into an Alliance & Leicester savings account for one-year-old daughter, Elise.

MY parents gave me a lump sum which encouraged me to save and buy my first house so I want to do the same for my children. When Luke gets to 18 and wants to go to university or buy a house he'll have enough to get him started. I've lost a lot because of the state of the markets but we're in it for the long term so I'm not worried.

Hopefully Luke will get a decent return at the end. We have a one-year-old daughter, Elise, and we're hoping to start one up for her too. At the moment she gets #50 a month into a building society.

We'll try to encourage them to put money away themselves when they're a bit older. Any birthday or Christmas money goes into a savings account in their names.

FRIENDLY SOCIETY CHILDREN'S PLAN

ZOE Williams, 24, and husband Michael, 29, from Stockport, pay #10 a month for each of their kids - Megan, 4, and Cameron, 7 months - into a children's savings plan with Shepherds Friendly Society.

WE took Megan's out when she was six months old because I was given one when I was 18 and thought it was a good idea. I spent most of mine on a holiday but we want them to have it in case they go to uni.

We started Cameron's when he was four weeks old. I'll tell Megan about it when she's a bit older - she doesn't really understand money at the moment. We pay in #10 a month for each of them so it should be worth just over #2,000. My husband has just started a new job as a carpet fitter so we'll be able to increase the sum we pay in if we want to.

I think it's important for parents to provide for their kids' futures if they can. The savings plans are in their names so we can't dip into them - good job as I'd definitely be tempted to otherwise.